Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

From the bestselling author of The Know-It-All comes a fascinating and timely exploration of religion and the Bible. A.J. Jacobs chronicles his hilarious and thoughtful year spent obeying―as literally as possible―the tenets of the Bible.

Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers.

The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history’s most influential book with new eyes.

Jacobs’s quest transforms his life even more radically than the year spent reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica for The Know-It-All. His beard grows so unruly that he is regularly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. He immerses himself in prayer, tends sheep in the Israeli desert, battles idolatry, and tells the absolute truth in all situations—much to his wife’s chagrin.

Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally. He tours a Kentucky-based creationist museum and sings hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. He dances with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn and does Scripture study with Jehovah’s Witnesses. He discovers ancient biblical wisdom of startling relevance. And he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first-century brain.

Jacobs’s extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges. A book that will charm readers both secular and religious, The Year of Living Biblically is part Cliff Notes to the Bible, part memoir, and part look into worlds unimaginable. Thou shalt not be able to put it down.

Review

"The Year of Living Biblically is an extremely compelling book, appropriately irreverent and highly entertaining. More significantly, it is a tale of an intense and intelligent spiritual search that will speak powerfully and instructively to a generation of seekers."–Rabbi David Ellenson, president of Hebrew Union College

Review

"In the twenty-first century few, if any, Christians truly attempt to follow the Bible in its literal entirety, even us evangelicals. In this yearlong experiment A.J. Jacobs attempts just that, with disarming sincere, refreshingly humorous, and unexpectedly insightful results. I commend this inspired narrative to anyone actively exploring the continued relevance of biblical living, religion's need for critical self-reflection, and the timelessness of authentic faith."–Reverend Jim Wallis, author of God's Politics and president of Sojourners/Call to Renewal

Review

"Throughout his journey, Jacobs comes across as a generous and thoughtful (and yes, slightly neurotic) participant observer, lacing his story with absurdly funny cultural commentary as well as nuanced insights into the impossible task of biblical literalism."–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Review

"Seeing that most people violate at least three of the ten commandments on their way to work -- even people who work from home -- says a lot about the scale of A. J.'s feat. The fact that you need to buy six copies of this book to unlock the code to save all humanity...well, that's just pure genius."–Ben Karlin, cocreator of The Colbert Report and coauthor of America: The Book

Review

"Setting out to explore the consequences of strict adherence to biblical laws, A. J. Jacobs encounters a series of experiences that are as hilarious as they are thought-provoking. Along the way he teaches us both the fallacies of modern day religious fundamentalism and the joys of discovering the transcendent and timeless truths of faith."–Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director, Human Genome Project, author of The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief

Review

"A. J. Jacobs has written about the Bible in a manner that is brilliantly funny but unerringly respectful, learned but goofy, deeply personal yet highly relevant. I am covetous and wish him smited."–Mary Roach, Bestselling author of Spook and Stiff

Review

"A.J. Jacobs has written a - how else to put it? - Good Book. Let me take my review from the original, Psalm 2, verse 4: 'He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh.' And let me suggest that readers, whether they know their Bible or not, get to know A.J. Jacobs. But not in a biblical sense, please."–P.J. O'Rourke

Review

"A.J. Jacobs is so funny he can make watching his beard grow hilarious. The Year of Living Biblically is the most unexpectedly delightful - and consistently charming - book I've read in a long time. It will have you laughing out loud, nodding in disbelief, and rethinking what you believe about the Bible. It will also have you tallying your sins: I coveted his humor and envied his facial hair. And that's no lie."–Bruce Feiler, author of Walking the Bible and Where God Was Born

Review

"A book that is at one and the same time delightfully readable and profoundly memorable is a wonder! The Year of Living Biblically is exactly that. A. J. Jacobs has perceived the distinction between the wisdom of the Bible and its absurdities. It is a shame that so many of both our clergy and our politicians seem incapable of making that distinction."–John Shelby Spong, author of Jesus for the Non-Religious and former Episcopal bishop

Review

"As a man incapable of developing any facial hair aside from a really amazingly cruddy moustache, I would have bought this book for the astonishing big beard chronicle alone. That The Year of Living Biblically grows, beardlike, into a long, hilarious, tangled, and ultimately moving story of spiritual growth is all the more astonishing. But why should I continue to be surprised at what springs from A. J.'s head? He is a brilliantly hilarious writer who truly lives up to that oft-misused adverb/adjective combination and then some. Plus: HE IS GOING TO HEAVEN. So how can you not afford to tithe your salary to his cause and buy this book?"–John Hodgman, Daily Show correspondent and author of Areas of My Expertise

Review

"Impressive and often tremendously amusing.... The author's determination despite constant complications from his modern secular life (wife, job, family, NYC) underscores both the absurdity of his plight and its profundity. While debunking biblical literalism -- with dinner party-ready scriptural quotes -- Jacobs simultaneously finds his spirituality renewed. ...A biblical travelogue -- and far funnier than your standard King James."–Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

A.J. Jacobs is the author of The New York Times bestsellers The Year of Living Biblically, My Life as an Experiment and The Know-It-All. He has been called "inspired and inspiring" (Vanity Fair), "entertaining" (New York Times) and "hilarious" (Time). He is the editor at large of Esquire magazine, a contributor to NPR, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Entertainment Weekly. He lives in New York City with his wife Julie and their children. Visit him at AJJacobs.com and follow him on Twitter @ajjacobs.

Reading Group Guide

Discussion Questions

1. Why does Jacobs embark on his year-long biblical journey? What does he expect to find at its end? How do the questions he seeks to answer evolve as he immerses himself in the project?

2. Identify the formal and informal spiritual guides Jacobs consults during his year of biblical living. Whom do you find most instructive, most challenging to accept, and/or most spiritually compelling? Provide examples for each of your responses.

3. What are Jacobs's primary challenges in living the Bible as literally as possible? How does he attempt to resolve them? Is he successful? Why or why not?

4. Discuss the various religious groups that Jacobs visits during his year. How are they similar and different from each other? What contradictions does Jacobs uncover in their biblical living? What lessons does Jacobs take away from his encounters with these groups?

5. What role does prayer play in Jacobs's year-long journey? How does his relationship with prayer evolve? What meaning does he attach to prayer? Do you agree? Why or why not?

6. What specific issues arise as Jacobs shifts from the Old Testament to the New? What implications do they have for his entire biblical living project?

7. What value does Jacobs attach to the idea of surrendering? Why is surrendering such a challenge for Jacobs? Does Jacobs ever surrender? Why or why not?

8. What does Jacobs's relationship with his neighbor, Nancy in 5I, and the circumstances surrounding her death illuminate about Jacobs's biblical quest? How does this particular situation support or challenge Jacobs's conclusions about the limits of literal interpretations of the Bible?

9. What conclusions does Jacobs draw about the Bible, its literal adherents, and the nature of religious activity as a result of his year of living biblically? What is the value of the experience for Jacobs personally?

10. What is the value of Jacobs's exploration for you personally? What key lessons or insights will you take away from Jacobs's experiences? How has his journey informed your perceptions and understanding of the Bible?

Enhancing Your Book Club

Type up the Ten Commandments for your reading group members. Distribute this list to members and challenge them to follow the list and live as Jacobs did for seven days. Book club members may choose to follow one commandment per day or attempt a few simultaneously. Members should keep a journal of their daily experiences. When members meet to discuss the book, ask a few to volunteer to read excerpts from their journals. Discuss the following:

- What were the challenges members encountered as they tried to live biblically?

- Were they able to live biblically through the seven days? Why or why not?

- What lessons will members take away from this process?

- What did they become mindful of as they participated in their seven-day exercise?

- Are there specific actions they plan to continue beyond the seven days? What are they and why?

Invite a local religious leader to be a guide for this book club selection.

Your religious guide should be willing to read the book and

help to lead a portion of the book club discussion. Points to consider

during the discussion:

- What were the significant religious themes in the book? Why?

- What alternative or additional interpretations exist for some of the views expressed by Jacobs's religious guides?

- What does he/she make of Jacobs's conclusions about biblical literalism or the role of the Bible in people's lives?

- What recommendations can he/she provide to members who might like to live more biblically?

Assemble a biblical feast for book club members using food items listed in the Bible. Popular items include: wine, grapes, pomegranates, figs, cucumbers, olives, chickpeas, and lamb. You may procure goat's milk, the dairy product of choice, at your local specialty grocer or online. Additionally, Jacobs recommends chocolate-covered crickets from http://www.flukerfarms.com.

For an extra bit of effort, you may use the recipe below to make Ezekiel Bread for the group (http://www.breadbeckers.com/recipes/ ezekiel_bread.htm)

Stir or knead until well kneaded, about 10 minutes. This is a batter-type bread and will not form a smooth ball.

Pour dough into greased pans. You may use 2 large loaf pans (10x5x3) or 3 medium loaf pans or 2 9x13 brownie pans. Let rise in a warm place for one hour or until the dough is almost to the top of the pan. If it rises too much, it will overflow out of the pan while baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes for loaf pans and 35-40 minutes for brownie pans.

If your group is able, you can visit the Creation Museum (http://www.creationmuseum.org/) located in Petersburg, Kentucky. There are special rates and promotions for groups of fifteen or more people.

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What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating 5 (1 comments)

I started this with trepedation, thinking it would bash religion, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was thoughtfull, thought provoking, educational, and ernest. I learned much from this book about faith, and how we all view it and approach it differently. It was really an elightening read.